SUSTAINABLE TRAVEL TRENDS – IMPLICATIONS
Planet earth is witnessing frequent natural disasters like never before – floods, earthquakes, fires and hurricanes. This is having long term repercussions on our eco-system. Moreover, changes in climate is detrimental to our environment. Major reason as we all know is pollution from vehicular traffic and carbon emissions from plants/factories. No matter how much we refuse to accept, travel is one of them.
Does this indicate that we should drastically lessen our travel ? The answer is no. Don’t stop traveling, as this beautiful world is worth exploring! Travel not only helps us to widen our perspective by knowing about different places and people, numerous economies are dependent on it. It is a source of income for many businesses globally.
What we can do to avoid this threat is to begin by being aware of sustainable travel and its role in protecting our precious eco-system. Start taking basic steps and subsequently educate others of its benefits. Secondly, travelling responsibly, opting for eco-tourism where ever possible and finding ways to be a part of the solution is the way forward.
Sustainable travel may not be the easiest or the most convenient for everyone, but those who can, should definitely adopt it for the sake of our universe. Described below are some of the ways in which we can contribute to sustainable travel.
1) As excessive air travel is causing major greenhouse gas emissions , here are what travelers can do to protect the world from the negative impact of flying :
Plenty of information is available online, check for airlines that use energy efficient fuel. Direct flights are better than those with stop-overs as landings and take-offs result in more carbon emissions. Try to take direct flights as much as possible, it would lead to low atmospheric contamination.
2) Choose to travel by alternative modes of transportations, like trains or by road whenever you can. Electric cars are becoming popular nowadays, that not just turn out to be cheaper but result in less pollution.
3) Saying, travel within your own country only may be idealistic and difficult to follow. What we can do instead is to avoid over crowding. One of the best way is to travel during off-season and travel light. Carrying less stuff definitely helps airlines.
4) For your stay – find hotels that are eco-friendly, and have the LEED or Green Globe certification. These are internationally recognized standards for sustainable tourism. Also places that use solar power, an energy efficient lighting system and recycled products. Hotels that follow green norms are great.
5) Tourism may lead to water shortage in vulnerable areas. We can do our bit by asking for room linen not to be changed everyday where ever we are staying and hence saving water.
6) Supporting indigenous businesses and communities when visiting a new city by buying stuff from local markets, artisans. Eating organically grown food and vegetables at local restaurants are some of the methods.
7) Finally, being responsible ourselves – avoiding the use of plastics, going for re-usable cutlery, water bottles etc. And yes, disposing trash in the correct way in bins.
8) In addition, preserving world heritage sites by adhering to rules and regulations for tourists. Instructions like visitors not allowed to lounge on the lawns may seem minor but are important factor . So, next time you visit such a place, ensure not to litter or damage them.
Consciously taking steps not to harm the environment would certainly help replenish our eco-system, leaving it greener and cleaner for future generations.
As countries are increasingly becoming aware of the benefits of eco-tourism. The table below shows data on sustainable travel trends adopted by various nations :
Source : Google Trends
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